


Out to get you.

by VathySkotadi



Category: VA-11 Hall-A (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Paranoia, chat, trash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:15:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21838075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VathySkotadi/pseuds/VathySkotadi
Summary: Gil feels the need to hide from someone that may be tied to his past, so he goes into a dark alley, where he nearly gets mugged... by an old acquaintance.This short fic simply tries to explore a little of Gil with the little context of his past we're given.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Out to get you.

Gillian looked into the dark alleyway with two certainties: He was stupid, and he was about to get mugged. But he was fairly certain he’d seen that guy he’d passed down the street back there before, and the guy had met eyes with him for a second and there’d been a hint of recognition there. Recognizing someone but not being able to place them scared the hell out of Gil. Maybe he was just a lookalike of someone he’d met, or maybe he was just paranoid. But hey, it’s not paranoia if they’re out to get you. That brown haired dude could be anyone.

The neon-lit street did little to illuminate the pitch-black alley. Between two skyscrapers, the floor was damp with the water falling off all the ACs installed, which only helped the food in the many garbage bags disintegrate faster and give the place that classic Glitch City smell Gillian had grown to respect. Not appreciate. Not gotten used to. No, he’d learned to respect it. Because there were few places in the world where he could hide from his past, and this was probably the safest one.

He smiled sadly to himself as he stepped into the alley, ready to hide between the garbage for a while and make sure no-one followed him. _Glitch city being the safest place for me to hide… Why did my life choices have to bring me here?_ If he could go back and re-do all of his life, would he?

Well, if he hadn’t lived his life as he had, he wouldn’t have gotten the chance to go to that bazaar and…

“Stay very still and you get to live,” Gil heard at the same time as he heard the click of a gun’s safety coming off. The voice had come from behind, and he’d been kind of distracted thinking. Well, he’d seen it coming anyways. He put his hands up. Not that he had much on him, though that was dangerous in itself. It was usual for robbers to get frustrated if they didn’t get anything off you and shoot anyways. “Turn around, slowly.”

Gil did as ordered. His eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness, allowing him to see that the alley was even dirtier than he’d expected, with half of the garbage bags being broken. He chose to think that had been made by stray animals, because the alternative reminded him too much of his own past.

When he fully turned around, he saw the figure draped in a really dirty business coat and a beret who pointed at him with a small snub barreled revolver. In the dim light it was hard to make it out, but… “A K6s? Pretty old, huh?”

“Shut the fuck up,” the guy said, getting close rand pressing the revolver to Gillian’s chin. His breath was somehow better than the smell of trash, so Gil didn’t mind too much. “Take out your wallet and…” the robber paused. “Holy crap,” he said, stepping back. “Nikolai?”

Gillian’s eyes widened, and he felt a chill run down his spine at the name. His instincts took over as his hand whipped forward so fast the robber wasn’t able to react before he’d been pinned to the wall, the revolver falling on top of some trash. “Who the fuck are you? How do you know that name?” Gillian said, intense, ready to beat the guy’s head at any sign of trouble or danger.

“W-wait, don’t you recognize me? It’s me, Pavel,” he said, voice slightly panicked.

Gil eased his grip. “Prove it,” he said.

“Dude, you barfed on my bed after getting piss drunk after I dared you to drink two full bottles of Vodka by yourself,” Pavel said, and Gillian knew he was who he said he was. He let go of the guy, who warily crouched to grab his revolver and stuff it back in his pocket. “I can’t believe you’re… alive, and here,” Pavel said.

Gillian wasn’t sure of how to react. “I can’t believe you’re a homeless guy trying to rob me,” was all he managed to say before sighing and dropping down into a bag full of trash. Luckily, nothing sharp cut him as he did so. He’d been through enough stuff in his life to know that a cut from a garbage bag was never good.

“Oh, sorry about that. A guy’s gotta make a living, you know…” Pavel sat in front of him without much hesitation and stayed in silence for a moment. “So, going by a new name?"

"Call me Gil. Nikolai was never my real name anyways.” His eyes were now fully accustomed to the darkness, and though he couldn’t make out much, he thought he could recognize the beard Pavel was showing. He’d always thought he looked like a vagabond. 

Water dripped on Gil’s head, but with all the ACs on top of him, and with how heavy was the climate today, he didn’t really doubt it would be practically raining here.

“Neither is Pavel mine, but I don’t really have anything better for you to call me, so stick with it,” he chuckled. He eyed Gillian up and down, and though there was a hint of jealousy in his eyes, he soon let go of that. “I see you’re dressed rather… ok. Life good for you now?”

Gil shrugged. “Mostly. I have a job, an apartment, friends, a girlfriend… Can’t really ask for much more.”

“I get what you mean,” Pavel nodded. “Guess you were luckier than me. This rotten city hasn’t really given me much of a chance, and I can’t even fucking leave.”

“Yes, I’ve been incredibly lucky, that’s for sure,” Gil thought about Dana and how different things would be if he hadn’t met her. He wondered if he’d be even alive at the moment. “Not to offend, but I see you’ve had it rough.”

Pavel nodded. “Mostly,” he shrugged. “But honestly, I’d much rather be here than back there, if you get what I mean.”

“Oh, no, I totally get it,” Gil tried not to think of his past. “Though I do have to ask: You’re a fairly talented guy, strong and still lucid, for what I can see. Is there really no job you could get?”

“I actually got some, but…” he paused for a moment. “Honestly, I’d rather stay here. If nothing else, I feel safe among the trash. No-one will come looking for me if I stay here.”

Gillian wanted to retort, but truth was, he had gotten inside the alley for exactly the same reason. And truth was, he did feel a lot safer here than he did when walking down the street. Ever since the closing of Va-11 Hall-A, Gil hadn’t really felt safe anywhere. Sometimes he felt like a child for looking up to his ex-boss so much. But Dana’s confidence and strength was reassuring in a way he had never seen before. Somehow, he knew that if his past came back to bite him in the ass while he was near Dana, everything would turn out ok.

“I get the feeling.”

“I’ll assume that’s the reason you walked into a dark alley in the middle of the night,” Pavel chuckled. “Not that a normal mugger could do much against you.”

“I would have given you my wallet, really,” Gil said. “I wouldn’t want the attention a fight could…” Then he thought for a moment, getting it out and taking the little cash he had on it. “You can have this, if you want.”

Pavel raised a hand. “No, no,” he made a dismissive gesture and shifted uncomfortably in his trash bag. “I don’t steal from friends. And I try not to steal from people if they look to be in a bad state, either. I may be a criminal, but I have my limits. Anyways, what exactly got you in here? Someone tailing you?”

“I… don’t know,” Gillian leaned back, resting his back and head on the dumpster behind him. “I think I saw someone I recognized, but I couldn’t remember from where. That got me worried, so I stepped in here.”

“Huh. And I thought you were paranoid back in the KGB,” Pavel said with an amused tone. “Still, with all we’ve been through, I think we’re on our right to be a couple of crazy paranoids, eh?” he laughed.

Gillian allowed himself to smile. Worried as he was, sitting on a pile of trash, it was nice to have someone who could actually understand him. Who’d think he’d end up relaxing next to an old friend, now homeless, found randomly after he tried to mug him. “You’re right, Pavel, you’re right.” Gil closed his eyes and sighed.

A while passed without any of them saying anything. Gillian managed to leave his mind blank and just let the time go. He felt hidden in the alley, which helped him relax. Maybe he should have walked home with his co-worker, but he honestly didn’t like the guy too much, even if they lived close by. Oh, how he missed working with Jill.

“Now that I think about it, how come you don’t have any accent?” Gil said, opening his eyes to look at Pavel.

“I wasn’t Russian to begin with. I was born speaking English.”

Gil stared at him, slightly surprised. “I mean… wow, I could never tell. You speak Russian _that_ well?”

“Kind of needed for the job, you know how it goes.”

“I know, it’s just, I would have never guessed you weren’t fully Russian. Then again, it may be because I wasn’t very good at speaking it.”

“Nonsense, you spoke better than me. What gave you away was that John face you’ve got there. No-one would ever believe your actual name was Nikolai.”

Gil grunted. “Why does everyone keep saying that? What even _is_ a John face? Does that mean I look generic or what? Like, wouldn’t every other country have a different idea of what a ‘John’ face is? It annoys the hell out of me.”

Pavel laughed. “I don’t know, man. You just look like you should be called John. Sorry you were born with that face, and sorry your parents didn’t name you that,” he reached forward and patted Gil’s shoulder. It was needless to say Gil would probably have to wash this set of clothes a good number of times before they became usable again, though he wasn’t going to throw them away. He wasn’t that crazy.

“Well,” Pavel stood. “Gil, it’s been nice to see you again, but I actually have to go beg down the street for a few hours. You will not believe the amount of drunk rich people that walk by here at this hour who like to give me money. You can stay here if you want, though I’d be careful, if Goliath sees you it may get dangerous.”

“Goliath?” Gil asked, surprised Pavel would be afraid of anyone.

“The stray dog that likes to eat from this dumpster. He already knows me, but you… well, he can _bite,_ I learned that the bad way,” he explained. “Anyways, thanks for the chat. If you ever need an alley to hide, come to this one.”

Gil stood, offering Pavel a hand. Pavel took it, and they shook with a little more strength than needed, as it was customary for them. “Hey, if you want a job, maybe I can get you one,” Gillian offered.

“Gil, pal, I can take care of myself,” Pavel shook his head. “Though I would appreciate it if you didn’t, uhm, you know, report that I tried to mug you.”

“I won’t,” Gil reassured. “Though I think it’ll be best for you if you stop, you know, mugging people.”

“I’ll think about it,” Pavel said, giving Gil a nod of respect before turning around and leaving the alley through the same side Gil had entered it.

Gil thought about it for a moment before deciding he’d probably waited enough. Thinking about how crazy it was that he’d met with this old… friend? Comrade? Whatever he was, to find him on this place in Glitch City was one of the craziest things that had happened to him in quite some time.

With a relieved sigh, Gillian closed the door to his apartment. It wasn’t big, consisting of a bedroom in which his bed barely fit, an even smaller Korean-style bathroom – where the shower was _the entire bathroom_ – and the smallest kitchen in the world, but it was more than enough for him.

He went to his fridge, took out a can of beer – he’d found them on sale and they’d been cheaper than water – and drunk from it. The alcohol helped him relax after the tension of the day, and then he proceeded to throw all of his clothes into the laundry basket.

After finishing the beer, he took a long shower. He laughed to himself, realizing how silly he’d been. And yet, as he imagined that, he couldn’t help think about someone barging in, aiming at him with a gun and dropping him on the spot. Who had that man been? He closed his eyes. Something inside him told him that he needed to figure it out, or else he wasn’t going to be able to sleep. It wasn’t often that he recognized random people on the street.

He kept thinking about it as he exited the shower, as he dressed, and as he began to boil some water for a cup of instant noodles. The nutritional value may be negative, but he was in no mood to eat anything else.

Then, as he ate, it hit him.

 _That was… that was a guy Jill served once!_ He realized. _The… the biker with the red jacket._ Only, today he hadn’t been wearing the jacket, so Gil hadn’t been able to recognize him. The cup of noodles had almost fallen from his hands, so he left it on the counter to think.

Then, he let out the longest relieved sigh he’d had in a long while. The problem with a bartender, he guessed, was that in the end, you ended up with a lot of faces in your brain, even if most of them weren’t that memorable. Still, just in case, he’d call Jill later, to make sure…

Well, at least it wasn’t a whole waste. He’d met Pavel again, which was nice. _I should call Chief to see if she has anything to offer to him. He doesn’t deserve to be on that dumpster._

But for now, better to finish his meal and then call his girlfriend before going to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for the read!


End file.
